Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services.

It's Not Too Late to Invest

You're rarely too old -- or young.

If you're middle-aged or older, you might be thinking that it's not worth starting to invest anymore -- especially if you don't think you earn enough. You'd be wrong, though.

It's never too late (or early!) to begin investing. For a little inspiration, look to the amazing story of Anne Scheiber. Most people haven't heard of her, but she's one of the world's greatest investors. In 1932, Ms. Scheiber was a 38-year-old IRS auditor. Intrigued by the stock market, she forked over most of her life savings to her brother, a young stockbroker on Wall Street, who lost it.

Determined to try again, but this time relying on herself, she saved $5,000 and plunked it back into stocks in 1944 (at the age of 50). By the time she died in 1995 (at the age of 101), her money had grown to $20 million. How did she do it?

Well, for starters, she was a long-term, involved investor. She didn't buy a stock today and sell it tomorrow. She attended shareholder meetings and followed her companies closely. She bought big, consumer-brand companies such as PepsiCo(NYSE:PEP), Schering-Plough(NYSE:SGP), Chrysler -- now DaimlerChrysler AG(NYSE:DCX) -- and Coca-Cola(NYSE:KO). She also reinvested her dividends. She placed her faith and money in these growing companies and watched their earnings grow higher over decades. When she died, Anne donated it all to Yeshiva University in New York.

Anne wasn't totally Foolish, though, as she didn't stop to smell the roses enough. Those who knew her say she was a recluse in her small, rent-controlled apartment. Never married and painfully frugal, she wore the same coat year after year and skipped meals to save money. Fools generally enjoy not just investing and compounding long-term profits, but also family, friends, and the pursuit of happiness.

Anne Scheiber's investment legacy provides a powerful example of what we can achieve if we are methodical and patient with our money.

By the way, here's a lead for anyone thinking they're too young to invest: Drop by our Teens and Their Money area, where we offer a lot of information on managing and investing money, geared for teens and smart pre-teens. Perhaps point a young person you know to the area.

Author

Selena Maranjian has been writing for the Fool since 1996 and covers basic investing and personal finance topics. She also prepares the Fool's syndicated newspaper column and has written or co-written a number of Fool books. For more financial and non-financial fare (as well as silly things), follow her on Twitter... Follow @SelenaMaranjian